Congratulations To Darrell Issa, Human Events’ Conservative of the Year

Human Eventsdecided it was time to recognize the hard work of Rep. Darrell Issa, the Chairman of the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, awarding him the title of “Conservative of the Year”.

The rule of law is a matter of much concern lately, thanks to President Obama’s extraordinary use, and often flagrant abuse, of executive power. Congress held hearings on the subject in December, with some of the most damning testimony coming from leading liberal intellectuals. For the past five years, no one has worked more diligently to hold this Administration accountable than Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who represents northern San Diego County, and chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Chairman Issa issued a statement in response to the award:

“I am deeply honored that Human Events, the favorite newspaper of Ronald Reagan, has chosen me as 2013’s Conservative of the Year. As Chairman of the Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, I have endeavored to defend the American people’s right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Increased transparency leads to increased accountability. Abuses occur under every Administration, but today with a sweeping new health care law, an IRS that got caught abusing its authority, and abuses of powerful technology to eavesdrop on American citizens, government is playing a more intrusive role in our lives than ever before. I view this award as recognizing the importance of oversight, a fundamental responsibility of Congress that has a been a greater point emphasis over the last year than any other point in my 13 years of public service.

“This year, the Oversight Committee focused on the many problems with ObamaCare and HealthCare.gov, the IRS’s inappropriate targeting of conservative groups, excessive government conference spending, ending billions in waste in federal IT procurement, stopping Medicaid fraud in New York and finding answers about the events surrounding the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, among many other issues. We have also advanced bipartisan legislation to improve transparency and spending, the DATA Act, which creates an online database so Americans can see just where their tax dollars are going, and pushed for postal reforms that would save taxpayers billions.”

Issa is one of my favorite congressmen, one of the more intelligent Reps in the House – though he does have his Republican detractors who would like to see him do more to mitigate the Regime’s lawlessness.

One of my favorite Issa moments from the past year – when he called Obama’s “comically evasive mouthpiece”, Jay Carney, a “paid liar.”

“The administration is still — their paid liar, their spokesperson, picture behind — he’s still making up things about what happens and calling this local rogue,” the House Oversight Committee chairman said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The reason that [IRS administrator] Lois Lerner tried to take the Fifth [Amendment] isn’t because there’s a rogue in Cincinnati, it’s because this is a problem that was coordinated, in all likelihood, right out of Washington headquarters and we’re getting to proving it.”

Issa’s no slouch when it comes to questioning – and don’t forget Jason Chaffetz and Justin Amash.
The fact that Issa’s been stymied by a lawless Regime is not a reflection on him as much as it is a reflection on the lawless Regime. This Administration has used unprecedented tactics to thwart oversight, but Issa keeps plodding away. As the Human Events article notes:

It has been the Administration’s lack of candor – its extreme reluctance to make documents and witnesses available – that make these hearings so chaotic, frequently obliging Issa to remind House Democrats and the White House that his function is a duty of Congress, not a sideshow in Washington’s never-ending spin wars. In an Administration that often seems to be composed entirely of rogue low-level employees, Issa never stops asking where the orders really came from… and they always turn out to be emanating from a higher level than agency heads or the White House initially claimed.

In his last hearing of 2013, he held a hearing exploring the political/legal remedies (including the I word) to Obama’s flagrant abuse of executive power with “some of the most damning testimony coming from leading liberal intellectuals.”

It seems to me Issa is committed to reining in the executive branch as best he can with the tools he has.

Therein lays my heartache with Issa. I understand what he is dealing with and how he has been thwarted at almost every turn. He has had many opportunities to use the knockout punch and hasn’t used it. Lois Lerner invoked the 5th Amendment after testifying {her opening statement}, that in itself is a waiver of her 5ht Amendment rights. It’s law 101 and I’m no Lawyer. Gowdy advised him and he allowed her to leave without testifying. Lerner has never been called back and “forced” to testify or put in jail. A missed opportunity and then to compound it she was allowed to retire with a pension.

He also seems to be reluctant to use his “subpoena powers”, though he has threatened it many times. Chances are that would’ve been ignored also, but then he needs to resort to the Courts to resolve the dispute as the Third Co-Equal Branch of Government . Someone has to hold these lawless thugs accountable and to date nobody has done it. He has issued some smack downs, but what is needed is some knockouts. He hasn’t delivered on “Fast and Furious – IRS – Benghazi”. One administration official after another has come before Congress and perjured themselves. To date nobody has been held accountable and prosecuted.

Eleven Attorney’s Generals have put Selbilus on notice that the President is acting “lawlessly” by invoking and changing the unACA. Duh, no kidding. They aren’t sure that they have “status” to get it into Court though. The Congress certainly does {have status}, since they are a “aggrieved party”. It’s their power that is being usurped every time obozo does it. There is a huge lack of leadership on the republicans side with Boener, Cantor et al. I don’t know of any party leadership that would’ve allowed things get this out of hand, as the republicans have.

So it’s not all Issa’s fault, there is a leadership vacuum that refuses to act and support their own Committee Chairman. If this was in reverse and we had version 2.0 of Nanni Piglosi, it would not be going on. I’m afraid what the republicans really fear is actually establishing grounds for “Impeachment”. What hell will they do then?